Blog

Meta Payment System has announced the winner of the “Best Experience Story Challenge” related to gift card sales;
Donna Gross of the Hartford Savings Bank.
Donna identified the needs of the Slinger High School Marching Band
(SAMBA) in Slinger, Wisconsin as they were preparing to take a trip to
London, England. Donna looked for ways that she could help, and used the
Large Order process to accomplish her goals while driving additional
card sales from friends and family in support of the trip.
In honor of winning the “Best Experience Story Challenge,” Hartford
Savings Bank will receive a plaque; SAMBA â the charity of their choice
will receive a $500 donation; and Donna will receive a $100 Gift Card.
Meta Payment Systems is the world’s
leading issuer of prepaid, credit and debit payment solutions as well as
the largest sponsor of ATMs in the United States.

Giesecke & Devrient has rolled out the Mobile Security Card SE 1.0 in conjunction with BlackBerry(R) smartphones at the Mobile World Congress from February 15 to 18, 2010, in Barcelona. Inserted into the microSD card slot on mobile devices, the Mobile Security Card SE 1.0 handles user authentication as well as encryption and signature operations as an independent cryptomodule. In a two-factor process, the user authenticates himself to the Mobile Security Card and only gains access to the mobile device if the information matches. The microSD card can be used for various security scenarios, e.g. for mobile office and banking applications. Providers of independent software can flexibly develop their own security solutions for use with the Mobile Security Card.
On BlackBerry smartphones the card integrates itself in the BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 and handles user-friendly encryption and signature of e-mail traffic and the device memory. With their combination of security and user-friendliness, BlackBerry smartphones featuring this operating system version will provide significant added value in professional corporate use. The Mobile Security Card can also be used with an additional driver software on Smartphones using the BlackBerry Device Software 4.5.

Identity theft solution provider ID Watchdog reports a successful launch
of idCHECK.
“idCHECK” utilizes ID Watchdogâs
patent-pending technology to immediately identify whether a consumer has
a pre-existing identity theft condition, and outlines recommended next
steps based on the report. Distribution efforts have been managed by
InComm, who markets retail
products across more than 150,000 partner locations worldwide.
InComm will work with retailers to offer ID
Watchdogâs idCHECK product at an attractive price point, with special
offers to upgrade consumers to its flagship monthly monitoring service.

U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates for 4Q/09 show online retail spending reached $39 billion, up 3% since the year ago period, while total retail e-commerce spending reached $129.8 billion for the full year, a loss from $130.1 billion seen in 2008. Spending growth, according to comScore digital marketing intelligence, was driven by an increase in online buyers. Average spending per buyer, however, saw modest declines. Tuesday, December 15 ranked as the heaviest U.S. online spending day in history at $913 million and free shipping factored into more than 40% of e-commerce transactions during the holiday season.

Cardtronics non-bank owner of ATM has released its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009, posting revenues of $124.8 million and $493.4 million, respectively. The 4Q/09 revenue reflected a 6% increase from the $118.2 million in revenues generated the year ago period; Gross margins of 31%, up from 24% in 4Q/09; adjusted EBITDA of $27.6 million, up more than 44% from the $19.1 million in 4Q/08; total cash withdrawal transactions and cash withdrawal transactions per ATM per month increased by 8%; total transactions per ATM per month increased by 10%; and ATM operating gross profit per ATM per month increased by 43%. The $493.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 is very comparable to the $493.0 million in revenues recorded during the year ended December 31, 2008 while year-over-year revenues increased by 4%. Approximately $18.1 million in revenues shifted from surcharge revenue and equipment sales in 2008 thanks in large part to the mix shift from the Company’s merchant-owned account base to its core business operations.

Retail financial services provider National Money Mart has launched the prepaid “Nextwave TITANIUM+ Visa. Customers can load money onto their card at any Money Mart branch across Canada. The spending limit is set by how much money is pre-loaded to the
card. Cardholders can benefit from security features, such as Visa’s Zero Liability policy*, in the event of loss or theft
Purchasing a Nextwave TITANIUM+ Visa prepaid card is easy. Interested
customers with a valid address, two pieces of ID (one government-issued
and one photo) and who are at least 16 years of age can go to any of
Money Mart’s nearly 500 branches in Canada for instant approval (there
is no credit check and personal bank account and deposit information is
not required). The prepaid card is loaded on the spot allowing
cardholders to use their cards immediately. Current TITANIUM+ customers can easily convert their existing cards to
the Nextwave TITANIUM+ Visa prepaid card at any Money Mart location
quickly and with no usage interruption.

NFC provider CONNECTTHINGS will demo the “Wave-Me” NFC services platform at GSM Mobile World in Spain.
The Wave-Me NFC
services platform is built upon CONNECTHINGSâ AdTag server and is
designed to give NFC the intelligence it
needs to enable a broad range of mobile services beyond payment and
transit applications. The demonstration will provide a preview of a pilot project CONNECTHINGS is
developing for the Office of Tourism in Marseille, France. Providing visitors
electronic coupons for public transportation and entry to museums
and other points of interest around the city. The Wave-Me client
software in an NFC handset will trigger a back-end transaction on the
AdTag server (visible on a PC monitor) when the handset is brought in
close proximity to an NFC tag, connecting the associated e-coupon with
the handset. When the handset is waved near the corresponding NFC tag at
the merchant premises, it displays the coupon, providing proof to the
merchant that payment has been made.

Payment processor NEOVIA Financial has signed on Travian Games, Crafty Studios, OffGamers and Cherry Credits. Travian Games GmbH is an award-winning MMOG game developer. NEOVIA is providing its enhanced NETELLER e-wallet and NETELLER 1-Pay as a payment option for all Travian’s customers. The tailored e-wallet supports micro-payments, making it commercially viable for merchants to offer it to players. While the actual payment process is quick and simple for the gamer, NETELLER guarantees the funds to the gaming merchant. Crafty Studios is a game developer whose titles include Devil Fight II, and which is the operator of Bulido, a Second Life money conversion portal, where players can pay in with real money and convert it to Linden dollars. OffGamers, operating from Hong Kong, supports some 300,000 worldwide players for games including World of Warcraft, Aion Online, The Rune of Landscape and Warhammer. The NETELLER e-wallet has been recently added as a new payment option. Cherry Credits provides a one-stop payment solution to over 125 online games. In addition to its strong retail distribution in Asia, players with NETELLER e-wallets can now purchase Cherry Credits to make payment for some of the most renowned game publishers including NHN, Ntreev, Softnyx, Sulake and CJ Internet.

VeriFone Holding has signed on e-payment service provider Afone Group which will focus on selling VeriFone Vx Solutions systems, which include
the Vx 810 PIN pad, the Vx 810 DUET countertop solution and the Vx 670
wireless payment device. All will be available with Afone’s easy-to-use
payment application platform, AfonePilot. The VIP Program provides partners with access to a wide range of
services including in-depth product and sales training and web-based
access to exclusive partner information.

Value chain strategists ModusLink Global Solutions is now offering
“ModusLink Rebate” web-based customer loyalty solution. “ModusLink
Rebate” includes both online and offline rebate processing to accelerate
fulfillment and automate the complete rebate process from
validation and financial reconciliation to fulfillment and tracking.
Through ModusLink Rebate, clients are able to strengthen relationships
with customers, improve process efficiencies and cycle time for payments
and increase visibility into claims. ModusLink Rebate is offered as part
of ModusLinkâs e-Business Suite of
Solutions, which can be leveraged in any industry, by virtually any
manufacturer. The e-Business Suite of Solutions combines ModusLinkâs
many years of vertical market, supply chain and e-Business experience
with best-of-breed technologies and standardized processes to help
clients manage the complete range of online business-to-business and
business-to-consumer supply chain activities.